The inaugural season of the Vancouver Titans in Overwatch League almost went perfectly. They were a dominant force from start to finish and reached the Grand Finals. It wasn’t a storybook ending for them however after they were swept by the San Francisco Shock in those Grand Finals, but it was a tremendous first campaign.
As such, there were high hopes coming into this season that they could once again make a run at the championship. That was until the games started being played. Vancouver wasn’t able to play many of its’ early season matchups due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Once the league switched over to an online only format however it was finally an opportunity for the Titans to return to glory. Unfortunately for them they have struggled out of the gates with a 2-2 overall record and a 7-8 record in maps played.
This could be early season jitters as well as changes to the meta, but the Vancouver Titans players are also apparently dealing with some internal frustrations. Rumors are beginning to circulate that they are frustrated with how management has represented them. On Sunday, the majority of the team removed the Vancouver Titans name from their Twitter accounts.
A "credible source" within the Overwatch scene reported that the Vancouver Titans players are unhappy with the handling and communication of their management.
The Vancouver Titans are managed by Luminosity Gaming. https://t.co/HPJ8vQSJOI
— Parker Mackay (@INTERRO) April 19, 2020
What is the cause of these feuds isn’t well known at the moment, but there is plenty of speculation online that Vancouver’s fate could be similar to that of former Overwatch League Champion London Spitfire. The Spitfire famously had the entire original championship winning roster, except for Yung-hoon “Krillin” Jung, leave or be released from the team following the end of the 2019 Overwatch League season.
If the Titans are so frustrated with management that they don’t even want to identify with them on their Twitter then a Spitfire kind of ending could be on the way. Of course, it’s a long season and there’s plenty of time for this relationship to be solved. The Titans are still an excellent team and if they start racking up wins then that could be enough to salvage everything. “Could” being a big if here.